SHANGHAI – The second day of the first round of professional boxing matches for the League of Fists were highlighted by keenly contested and bloody battles.

The Mixing Room of Shanghai’s Mercdes-Benz Arena was the venue for twenty boxers ranging from bantamweight to super welterweight. The League of Fists is a tournament style professional boxing competition involving fighters from mainland China conceptualized by TOP RANK and SECA.

The first bout of the night saw Liu Yongcai beating Mengketuolosi by first round TKO. Referee Samson Iu stopped the contest when Mengketuolosi was at the receiving end of several hard punches. Li Leshan beat Chen Junfu by split decision in an action packed four rounder. The scores – Judges Atty.Danrex Tapdasan (39-37) and Yan Wen Yong (40-36) had it for Li, judge Yu Bin scored it 39-37 for Chen.

Cong Bin won by TKO in the third round against Xu Jia Hua. Xu was competitive in the first two round but ran out of gas in the third. Referee Danrex Tapdasan stopped the contest when Cong was landing successive hard punches.

In a bruising battle, Pan Jinxiang beat Zhang Qixiu by unanimous verdict. The scores of Danrex Tapdasan, Feng Yao Cheng and Yang Hong were all 40-36.

Zhou Jialun vs Ye Baofei ended in a technical draw after an accidental clash of heads inflicted a cut on the right temporal area very near the eye of Zhou. The blood from the cut was not covering his vision and was allowed to fight in the second round. But the hematoma underneath the cut continued to swell making the cut opening worse and the fight was stopped at the start of the third round.

Li Weifang vs Zhang Hongsheng was a no contest after an accidental headbutt in the opening round inflicted a deep gash on the inner corner of the left eyelid of Zhang.

Sun Bohao knocked down Ma Weijian in the first round. Ma stood up on unsteady legs prompting referee Samson Iu to stop the bout.

In the final bout of the night, Luo Qiang beat Wang Shengyong by TKO in the 4th and final round. Referee Atty.Danrex Tapdasan stepped in when a fading Wang was receiving several head shots.

The League of Fists had their inaugural presentation last Friday, also at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the Professional Boxing Commission (PBC) of China are the partners in this latest endeavor from Top rank and Seca to develop professional boxing talent in the mainland. The PBC has also conducted refreshers for boxing judges and other officials during the inaugural staging of this event. RENE BONSUBRE JR.